Recruitment & Coronavirus

[lb3817]

Hi guys,

Very new here, but thought I'd give it a go.

I'm very early in the process of joining the RN as an officer in Warfare, however I can fully appreciate that the current situation has disrupted recruitment everywhere.

Was just wondering what the current plan on the NSRT is? I have heard rumours that it's no longer happening and that they'll take your qualifications instead, but not sure how true that is?

Everything else beyond the NSRT is a bit distant for me at the moment, as I say I'm very early in the process, but I presume beyond the NSRT everything else has been disrupted as well? Has there been any significant changes in the joining process, particularly for potential officers?

Thanks in advance.

 

[soleil]

Has there been any significant changes in the joining process, particularly for potential officers?

Thanks in advance.

Something which is certainly true, lb, is that there is a group of applicants which was due to start at BRNC this spring and which is currently on hold. They are candidates who are fully processed with AIB passes; all they need now is to be selected and loaded on to a date.

This problem with the corona virus has happened at a point where a board was due to sit and, under normal circumstances, select candidates for a spring start (or later, of course). The primary need now is to find a way of selecting the candidates the Navy needs from the pool of candidates who are eligible and then creating an entry date which is feasible in the current climate.

Something which will come into play will be the matching of the current and forecast need to the pool of those who can be selected. It might be that there are sufficient, say, Logistics Officer candidates in the pool to make up a group for the next few entries, whereas there may be fewer candidates for Marine Engineer Officer (Submariner) in the pool, yet a real need for as many of them as possible to be processed through BRNC by the end of the year.

What this may mean is that the prognosis may differ depending on the roles people are applying for.

The primary need will be to process the existing pool, which means creating an entry date, something which is so difficult to do without knowing how the government intends to manage this appalling virus.

Handling this at BRNC must be like trying to do the world's most difficult jigsaw and I think that it is going to take some time.

For what it's worth, in the past, when something unusual has happened, it has been possible to tweak the joining process; I know of someone who was looking at WEO (SM) when there was a very vivid and immediate need for them. If I remember correctly, he made the phone call in January and was at BRNC about 2 months later, courtesy of a specially constructed fast track route.

 

[lb3817]

Something which is certainly true, lb, is that there is a group of applicants which was due to start at BRNC this spring and which is currently on hold. They are candidates who are fully processed with AIB passes; all they need now is to be selected and loaded on to a date.

This problem with the corona virus has happened at a point where a board was due to sit and, under normal circumstances, select candidates for a spring start (or later, of course). The primary need now is to find a way of selecting the candidates the Navy needs from the pool of candidates who are eligible and then creating an entry date which is feasible in the current climate.

Something which will come into play will be the matching of the current and forecast need to the pool of those who can be selected. It might be that there are sufficient, say, Logistics Officer candidates in the pool to make up a group for the next few entries, whereas there may be fewer candidates for Marine Engineer Officer (Submariner) in the pool, yet a real need for as many of them as possible to be processed through BRNC by the end of the year.

What this may mean is that the prognosis may differ depending on the roles people are applying for.

The primary need will be to process the existing pool, which means creating an entry date, something which is so difficult to do without knowing how the government intends to manage this appalling virus.

Handling this at BRNC must be like trying to do the world's most difficult jigsaw and I think that it is going to take some time.

For what it's worth, in the past, when something unusual has happened, it has been possible to tweak the joining process; I know of someone who was looking at WEO (SM) when there was a very vivid and immediate need for them. If I remember correctly, he made the phone call in January and was at BRNC about 2 months later, courtesy of a specially constructed fast track route.

Thanks Soleil.

Sounds very unpredictable, but I can understand safety is the priority.

Will be very interesting to see what they come up with, because they will of course continue to need recruits, so as you say to try and keep that demand up, they could alter the process

 

[soleil]

The one piece of advice I would offer, lb, is that candidates should consider the possibility of an a la carte fast track appearing in the late spring. The reason I suggest this is that I would want candidates to pay attention to their weight/fitness while maintaining proper observance of the current requirements for us all. It would be horrible to be asked to go through the fast track process in, say, June and then realise that all these weeks of staying at home had meant putting on twenty kilos and a real drop in fitness.

I really feel for the candidates who were all ready to go; it's a rotten situation. I'm hoping that they will regard all this as a challenge, the first of many to be dealt with in, hopefully, successful careers in the RN.

 

[lb3817]

The one piece of advice I would offer, lb, is that candidates should consider the possibility of an a la carte fast track appearing in the late spring. The reason I suggest this is that I would want candidates to pay attention to their weight/fitness while maintaining proper observance of the current requirements for us all. It would be horrible to be asked to go through the fast track process in, say, June and then realise that all these weeks of staying at home had meant putting on twenty kilos and a real drop in fitness.

I really feel for the candidates who were all ready to go; it's a rotten situation. I'm hoping that they will regard all this as a challenge, the first of many to be dealt with in, hopefully, successful careers in the RN.

Fully understand what you're saying. It's a good point, will have to wait and see, and keep up the fitness.

Absolutely, can't imagine how disheartened they are. Bet they were all ready to go.

 

[Jackthedusty]

Hi guys,

Very new here, but thought I'd give it a go.

I'm very early in the process of joining the RN as an officer in Warfare, however I can fully appreciate that the current situation has disrupted recruitment everywhere.

Was just wondering what the current plan on the NSRT is? I have heard rumours that it's no longer happening and that they'll take your qualifications instead, but not sure how true that is?

Everything else beyond the NSRT is a bit distant for me at the moment, as I say I'm very early in the process, but I presume beyond the NSRT everything else has been disrupted as well? Has there been any significant changes in the joining process, particularly for potential officers?

Thanks in advance.

Ib3817, do you have an application running at the moment? If not then put an application in and your Local AFCO will be in contact with you to explain the process as it is at the moment.

I believe the NSRT is suspended at the moment but there will be processes in place to possibly move your application forward (to a certain point).